17 awesome things about the Pittsburgh Pirates

17 awesome things about the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates advanced to the NLDS on Tuesday with their 6-2 win over the Reds at PNC Park. If you haven’t been following baseball this season, feel free to read that sentence a few more times to let it sink in. The Pirates won 94 games in 2013 en route to a Wild Card berth in their first winning season since 1992.

Now that you’ve come to grips with the Pirates being awesome, here are 17 awesome things about the Pittsburgh Pirates:

2. Pretty much everything about Andrew McCutchen

McCutchen looks like a favorite to take home the NL MVP Award, so he deserves — and received — his own list. In short: He’s great at baseball, he seems like a good dude, he’s a great impressionist, and he can draw. Oh! And…

3. He comes with his own national anthem singer

McCutchen’s mother, Petrina, is a gospel singer in their native Florida with a beautiful voice. She sometimes sings the Star Spangled Banner before Pirates games, as she did before the Wild Card game on Tuesday.

4. Starling Marte’s defense

Starling Marte is a center fielder who plays left field due to McCutchen’s presence. He’s a heck of an all-around player, and he can go get it in the outfield.

5. They stuff burgers in doughnuts and eggs in sausage

(PHOTO: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

PNC Park concessions rolled out two amazing new offerings this season: The “Brunch Burger” — a burger sandwiched by two halves of a doughnut, topped with bacon and a fried egg — and Scotch eggs, hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage and deep-fried. The Pirates don’t just win ballgames; they stuff delicious foods into other delicious foods.

6. Pedro Alvarez’s power

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The Pirates’ 26-year-old third baseman led the National League in home runs in 2013. He also led in strikeouts. He’s a big swinger, and when he connects, it goes very far.

7. Their bullpen

It looked like a tough blow for the Bucs’ bullpen when All-Star closer Jason Grilli went down with an injury in July with a forearm injury, but replacement Mark Melancon proved dominant in his stead. The team’s 2.89 bullpen ERA was third best in the league. In Justin Wilson and Tony Watson, they have a pair of fireballing lefties to neutralize some of the game’s best sluggers.

8. A.J. Burnett’s curveball

The veteran Burnett has hinted that he could retire after this season, meaning the playoffs might be the last opportunity fans have to enjoy his tantalizing Uncle Charlie. He threw it 35 percent of the time in 2013, the highest rate of curveballs among NL starters.

9. Their pillbox hat history

(PHOTO: AP Photo)

In 1976, five teams wore pillbox-style hats in honor of the National League’s centennial season. All except the Pirates ditched them by 1977, but the Pirates rocked them until 1986. They were the team that wore hats a totally different shape than every other team. It was sweet. Few wore it better than Willie Stargell.

10. They’re called “The Pirates!”

(PHOTO: AP Photo/Disney)

That’s the other thing: We hear the name “Pittsburgh Pirates” so often that we sometimes forget to consider all the funny connotations that come with it. Arrgh, ye scallywags.

11. Grilled Cheese time

Grilli’s back from his injury and closing for the Pirates again. When he enters games, the Pirates play a video that announces, “It’s Grilled Cheese time!” and somewhat inexplicably includes shots of Grilli making a sandwich. It’s incredible.

12. Their home park

(PHOTO: Keith Srakocic/AP Photo)

With its cozy confines and its views of the Allegheny River and the Pittsburgh skyline, PNC Park is widely considered one of the nicest parks in baseball. It’s great to see it filling up with enthusiastic Pirates fans.

13. Shrewd late-season pickups

(PHOTO: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports)

The Pirates stayed quiet at the July 31 trade deadline. Then, in late August, they scooped up Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau — both of whom started Tuesday’s game — without mortgaging much of their future. Striking late with waiver deals allowed GM Neil Huntington to make sure his team was bound for a pennant race before giving up any young players.

14. Francisco Liriano’s slider

Liriano struck out more than a batter an inning in 2013 and yielded more than 50 percent ground balls thanks to a wipeout slider he throws 36 percent of the time. Ask Joey Votto about it after Liriano struck him out twice on Tuesday night.

15. A hometown hero

(PHOTO: Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker was born in Pittsburgh in 1985 and grew up a Pirates fan. He told Pittsburgh’s City Paper that he fell for the team at age 7, meaning he got to enjoy the team’s playoffs run in 1992 before enduring an awful lot of heartache. Hard to imagine anyone’s more invested in the Pirates’ success.

17. Roberto Clemente’s legacy

(PHOTO: AP Photo)

That bridge you see out beyond the outfield at PNC Park? That’s the Roberto Clemente Bridge. The park’s right-field wall is 21 feet high because Clemente wore No. 21. The Hall of Famer was a pioneer among Latino ballplayers, a humanitarian, and a heck of a hitter. And with the Pirates playing well, he has not been forgotten: According to online retailer fanatics.com, Clemente’s jersey sales have spiked this month.

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